See You Again
by Lenneth le-Fay
Summary: When Jane's foster father, Erik dies Jane knows she'll be forced to marry an abusive pig. In desperation, she comes to the temple of Loki and makes a deal that will be a part of her soul for years to come. This story takes place in both the time of the vikings and the modern world of Thor and onwards.
1. Prologue

Once upon a time, long ago there was a young girl. She had had brown hair and soft chocolate eyes. But behind those eyes, there was intelligence and a fierce personality. This was a woman not to be underestimated, though she often was. She lived in Roskilde, a small village on the coast of the North with little riches, other than their beautiful temples. The largest, of course, was the temple to Odin, then to Thor, then to Frigga. The village would gather on days of worship, and celebrate the festivals joyously. There would be feasts, dancing, and storytelling. But the girl would be bored. Every year, these festivals were the same. Eating, yelling, dancing. She had no desire to eat so much or to hear stories of the men's valor.

When the topic of marriage was discussed she would mutter yes's and no's and bury her nose in the book. The men in her village had little value for intelligence, and couldn't see her beauty very well. She not fair-haired, like most of them, or loud, or interested at all. Her parents were also dead, and she no mother to teach her things about being a woman where she lived. She lived with Erik, on the outskirts of the village, a man who encouraged her love for knowledge and taught her his craft, of healing. She was set to be an old maid, all the village could agree on that. Sometimes, she wondered if that would be so terrible. But then again, her heart ached for another person, someone who understood but not pitied her. Someone who could actually read perhaps. It wasn't that she didn't love Erik, it was just that he was old and didn't quite understand her. Then again, who did?

Her father by all rights, Erik, worried for her. He knew he wouldn't be alive for much longer, and wanted someone to be there to look after her. He'd promised her father and mother that he would help her have a good life. And is she was unmarried, or if she became an orphan there was no telling what would happen to her. After all, he knew what men would do to her. But he hated thinking about Jane getting hurt, and tried to put off anything as long as he could. He had found no one that Jane would be happy with, and he could not force her to marry. Little did he know, his time was much sooner than he thought it was.


	2. Chapter One

Jane walked through the village thinking (and humming) to herself. Erik had sent her on an errand, to get some supplies -herbs, furs, meats, the usual. But what was strange was that he had sent her out unusually late. and told her visit with friends -if she had any, or perhaps Lambi, an old woman who gathered plants for them, and ran the village orphanage. Since she didn't have any other friends -not really, she shouldered her bag and walked down to Lambi's. At the door, she was greeted by some of the younger children, who grabbed her hands and pulled her to sit down. "Jane can you tell us a story?" said a little girl.

"Of course Darcy," she said, pulling the tween to sit beside her. Darcy was perhaps the closest thing she had to a friend. A nice, happy girl, Darcy was honest and cared little for what people thought. But even she had a way with men that Jane would never understand. Or perhaps boys, in Darcy's case. The children sat around her and Darcy, each requesting their favorite. 'Tell me the about Thor and his hammer!' and 'No, the one about that pretty one -Freya!" and on and on. Jane smiled. The children here didn't fear her, they had given her a chance. Most people didn't even let her speak, just gave her odd glances. She sat against the wall and began the story of a young Thor.

"Now children, let Jane go. It's getting late already, and we must let her return home, mustn't we? There are dark things out there."

"Like what?" asked one of the boys. His eyes widened. "Like Loki? What if I run into him? How does he look Lambi?" Lambi sat down beside Jane.

"Children, listen to me well. Loki is a dark man, but I feel that you should know about him. If you meet him, do not speak, only listen. He will take your words, and turn them. And he does many bad things." She said this the way a mother hen would, but Jane could see she meant what she was saying. Lambi -and the rest of the world feared Loki very much. "He appears as man with raven hair, and green eyes. His skin is as white as snow. But remember, he cam become anything. Even me!" she said leaning forward, and tickling all the children. They rolled around, playing for some time, until Jane said she must take her leave.

Jane smiled at Lambi and said her goodbyes to the children. She was about to leave when Lambi pulled her aside. "Jane, would you take Andvette home? She lives in the third house near yours." Jane nodded, and took the little girl's hand. "Jane," she paused, seeing Lambi standing the doorway forlornly "be careful."

"I will be." She didn't understand the sorrow in the woman's gaze. "Come Andvette, I'll take you home." She knelt to check that the girl was bundled up, and walked into the snow, making sure to hold her hand. They walked down the snowy streets of the village, and soon they were in a very lonely area.

"Andvette, what is that in your hand?" The girl seemed to be holding a small straw lump. The little girl looked up at her with mistrust in her dark eyes. For a minute, Jane saw something else in them. But she dismissed it of course. This was a little girl, much like her -small and almost alone.

"Freyja," she blurted. "It must be Frejya." Young girls love Freyja -godess of love. Most had something that they named after her, Jane being perhaps one of the only exceptions. The little girl looked up at her, and smiled. "I had a doll like that once…" she said softly, and the girl seemed to be listening. Jane continued the story, until a gust of wind almost knocked them off their feet.

"Freyja!" the girl screamed. The doll had blown off into the bushes, and Jane looked after it. She knelt in front of the girl.

"Stay here, I'll go find her," she said, standing, and brushing off her coat. She turned towards the bushes, and there seemed to be an old woman -just there. The woman had a long green cloak, once rich but now faded and torn. Her eyes were milky, and Jane couldn't really tell what color they were, or maybe what color they had been. Somehow, Jane didn't trust her. But in her hands, was Andvette's little doll.

"Children, what are you doing here?" she asked, voice full of kindness. "It's very late, and dark things creep out here. Are you lost?" as she said that, there was something strange that crept into her voice.

"No," said Jane, looking at the woman, who was handing the doll to Andvette and speaking to her softly. "Come Andvette, I must take you home."

"Of course!" said the old woman. "Find your way home children, and be careful of the dark." There was a glint in her eyes Jane didn't like, and she rushed Andvette to her home, and shut the door of her house.

"Jane!" she smiled. It was Erik, the closest thing she to a father. He was a healer, a messy happy one who had taken in her in and tried as hard as he could to raise on his own. It was better him than her aunt -who only pretended to care for her for her inheritance. When she hugged Erik, she felt something wrong. Erik didn't tease her as usual, and his smile didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Erik released her and looked down. He took a deep breath.

"I'm going to die," said, as if he was a warrior just fetching another arrow for training.

"What? You- you't just die!" she said. She couldn't believe it. Wouldn't. Couldn't. "You're all I have," she said, falling into his arms. "Don't leave me." He sighed and stroked her hair, and they remained standing, until they both went to bed. That night, Erik was no more.


End file.
